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Project partners:
June 2023 – present
Aerial view of friends gathered to harvest radishes at black futures farm in Portland, OR. Photo credit: Robert Cuadra
A resilient, equitable food system grows from the leadership, knowledge, and lived experiences of producers.
Through Resilient Food Futures, we work across the Portland Metro Region and Oregon to strengthen the long-term viability, resilience, and leadership of underserved producers.
Our approach centers culturally specific strategies, climate resilient agriculture, and the strength of trusted peer networks. We mobilize resources, align tools and partnerships, and invest in producer-led solutions. Through peer-to-peer learning, technical assistance, microgrant support, outreach, and systems navigation, we work toward tangible outcomes: stronger farm operations, secure access to land and capital, expanded food system participation, and thriving rural and urban communities. This is an ongoing practice. We seek to root our efforts in the lived experiences, priorities, and wisdom of producers, learning and adjusting as we go.
Through Cultivating Connections, an ongoing community-building series, we co-create spaces where producers can share lived experiences, identify barriers, and lift up solutions rooted in community knowledge. Our Rooted Resilience workshop series invites participants to reconnect with ancestral and Afro-Indigenous land stewardship traditions through regenerative practices that heal soil, nourish communities, and cool the planet. We also deliver direct financial support through our climate resilience microgrant awards, helping producers strengthen their operations and adapt to climate challenges.
At the heart of Resilient Food Futures is a commitment to recognizing and supporting the wisdom, knowledge, and strength that already exist within communities. We work to elevate producer voices, invest in their leadership, and build support systems rooted in care. By doing so, we support communities to reclaim legacies of resilience and shape a food future rooted in care, connection, and collective power.
We’d love to have you be a part of our growing community of urban agricultural producers and other folks working in food systems in the greater Portland Metro Area (and surrounding cities). Receive our monthly communications with relevant resources, opportunities, and upcoming events!
Upcoming Events
Upcoming event
We will be hosting another Cultivating Connection event in Fall / Winter 2025! Check back soon for more details.
BLOG
Tara Violetta is the farmer and founder of Sun Moon Fields, a mixed vegetable micro farm in Gresham, Ore. that specializes in mesoamerican crops that honor Tara’s Mexican lineage through their father’s side. In this interview, Tara speaks about their journey into farming, their challenges as a small farm, and what keeps them going.
BLOG
Reeba Daniel is the founder of Keep Growing Seeds, operating agricultural spaces at two schools in Hillsboro and one in Beaverton, Oregon. In this interview, Reeba talks about their journey and challenges in the farm to school movement.
BLOG
Beth Froembling is the owner of Atypical Roots Farm and Freeze-dried Foods, DBA. Atypical Roots produces farm-fresh meats, produce, and freeze-dried fruits, vegetables, and has a dedicated gluten-free commercial facility. In this interview, she speaks about what makes Atypical Roots unique and for the people.
BLOG
In Oregon’s fertile Hood River Valley, Kiyokawa Family Orchards has been family-owned and operated since 1911. The 207-acre orchards are currently managed by its third-generation owner, Randy Kiyokawa. On the blog, Randy and his daughter Rebecca reflect on the farm’s history and their approach to succession planning.
Microgrants
The Resilient Food Futures Microgrants are an offering of the larger Resilient Food Futures project.
These microgrants are intended to increase the capacity of urban farmers and other producers for growing food, medicines, fibers, or commodities or for expanding their growing operations and to increase their capacity for implementing climate-friendly or conservation practices that improve soil quality and increase their resilience to a changing climate, if funding is not currently available through existing USDA programs. Learn more through our new webpage.
Partners
is a collaboration hub for Black and Brown communities that exists to ignite BIPOC communities to participate as owners and movement leaders within food systems, placemaking, and economic development.
equitably serves all farmers, ranchers, and agricultural partners through the delivery of effective, efficient agricultural programs for all Americans.
serves the changing needs of Oregon’s diverse agricultural and food sectors to maintain and enhance a healthy natural resource base and strong economy in rural and urban communities across the state.
advances sustainable agriculture, resilient community food systems, and the long-term viability of Oregon’s small and mid-scale farmers and ranchers.
is the nation’s first directly elected regional government and serves more than 1.7 million people in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties whose boundary encompasses Portland and 23 other cities region wide.
works to develop and implement local, culturally appropriate programs to address a wide range of health disparities among the Black/African immigrant and refugee communities throughout Oregon.
Ecotrust Project Team & Services
Want to learn more? Check out the full Ecotrust Staff & Board and all of our Tools for Building Collective Change.
We cultivate leaders and assist with funding sources.
We build and deliver mission-aligned projects in partnership.
We contribute tools, analyses, and frameworks that move projects forward.
Resources
Email newsletter
We’d love to have you be a part of our growing community of urban agricultural producers and other folks working in food systems in the greater Portland Metro Area (and surrounding cities). Receive our monthly communications with relevant resources, opportunities, and upcoming events!
Ecotrust project
Bringing together a growing network committed to building thriving local economies, vibrant urban and rural communities, and equitable access to good food— join us for the next Local Link on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at the Redd on Salmon Street in Portland, Oregon.
